Home > Newsletter > By His Grace
A Contrite Heart
"What have we done!" I can still hear the anguished cry of the man as he fell to his knees. A gut wrenching, guttural cry.
It was a one-man play. The actor was portraying one of the leaders of Israel, a member of the Sanhedrin. He began narrating the events of Good Friday. And what had seemed curious to him at first-like the darkness that covered the earth after Jesus' death-now begins to sink in. And he realizes, for the first time, that this was no ordinary man they have just crucified. This was who He said He was-the Son of God.
"What have we done!" There is no turning back. There is no undoing what they have done ... How do you approach God when you have just killed His Son?
I don't remember how the play ended. What I do remember, vividly, is feeling an overwhelming desire to walk up to this man and help him up. It didn't come from me. I believe it was the Spirit within me, driving home the point that God really does love a contrite heart. There was no anger, just overwhelming compassion-a love that is well beyond human comprehension. The very death this man had caused could now atone for his sin and grant him life, eternal life...
God will never downplay sin. He will never overlook it, dismiss it, or excuse it. He wants us to understand how offensive sin is to Him. But if we truly repent, if we are grieved by our own sin, He will come and gently lift us off our knees. Whatever the sin, Jesus Christ can point to the cross and say, "For this too I died.”
"Though sin is shown to be wide and deep, thank God His grace is wider and deeper still." (Romans 5:20, Phillips). Thank God, indeed.
-Maria Lund